Run Foreman, Run! - The Panthers Expect to Have Lead Back vs Seattle
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Winning on the road is hard to do in the NFL. Winning two games in a row is also hard to do in the NFL. And so far this season, the Carolina Panthers have been unable to accomplish either feat.
This week, they look to cross both off the list and if they do, it will be well-earned playing against a well-coached Seattle Seahawks team that is playing with a ton of confidence right now. Not to mention, Seattle has arguably the loudest stadium in the NFL.
One way the Panthers can get off the schneid on the road is do what they do best - run the football. I know, captain obvious here, right? But hey, even offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo admitted Thursday that it took them a little longer to recognize what type of offense they need to be and took the blame for it.
'I think what you're seeing is it took us a little bit to figure out how we needed to play. It took us a little while to figure out who our offense was," said McAdoo. "We've played with some different quarterbacks and as you get going through the season and you're in the first year of an offense, sometimes it takes a little bit longer to figure things out and get going. That's my job and I was a little slow there. Certainly, we don't have everything figured out. We're still a work in progress but we have guys with a lot of confidence. We're just trying to put guys in position to be successful."
Considering how well the Panthers have ran the ball over the last month and how poor Seattle has been at stopping the run, the formula for a win is fairly simple. Feed D'Onta Foreman, control the clock, and keep the red-hot Geno Smith on the sidelines.
Since taking over as the team's starting running back, Foreman has logged four 100-yard games in six weeks. The two games he didn't cross the century mark, the Panthers lost. Seattle's defense is currently allowing a whopping 4.9 yards per carry and 155.3 rushing yards per game, which ranks 31st in the league.
Up until Thursday, there was some concern that Foreman may not be available due to a foot injury that he sustained in the team's win over Denver. He returned to practice in limited action yesterday and says that he should be good to go, although that may not have been the case a week ago if they didn't have a bye.
"If we had a game last week, I'm not sure to be honest," Foreman said. "So, it was great that we had the bye week. It definitely helped me out a lot. Even like last weekend I was still kind of grimacing a little bit with the pain, so I can't say I would have been able to go but I feel a lot better right now.
"When I went out to practice today it was kind of better for me running around. But I think when I get going it's just the adrenaline. I don't even think about it."
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